Remembrance

There is a loneliness that soldiers feel, a faraway drift in the eyes. Wartime service requires commitment to intolerable circumstance. Threats posed can be real enough. So too the sacrifice and pain involved. The term "greatest" remains applicable to any time and place. Eighteen is a special age for everyone, notwithstanding the moment, arena, challenge. Touch a civil war photo. Put your hand over the uniform, study the face. Most times it is young, determined, a bit apprehensive. The look is always the same. There were veterans in our family. Uncles, cousins at Anzio and Normandy. A relative who suffered two years as a Korean War POW. Veterans of Vietnam, younger, more reticent. Sunday table was set with people. Everyone spoke loudly at the same time. I was always intrigued by the fact that in the midst of confusion everyone listened and heard. Very seldom did the conversation dwell on wartime experience. Indeed there were docorated heroes at table. I learned that later while paying respects. People often use the term "child of the 60s." My peers and I share that designation. Great music, friendships, political activism and a war. It was a turbulent time. Some of us went to college, some commited to civil action, some went to war. Enlistment or the draft signaled change. Backyard parties were constantly saying goodbye to those leaving and welcoming those returning. They were always emotional evenings, faces whirling about. In my classroom I remember pulling a map down, showing students where Vietnam was. Three young men returned on leave, pointed out where they were going. We talked until custodians began sweeping around us. There are quiet times when memories come together. We all have our moments. Another Memorial Day, another year. The faces in the photos remain the same, forever young. There have been conflicts and actions that deserve criticism. That criticism never extends to the soldier. Old men we can approach on the street. Young men we meet on the train. It never hurts to thank them, wish them well. A gentleman often sits on the corner of 34th and 7th. He carries a small sign, "veteran." When you hold his hands they stop shaking. When you ask his name he smiles. Try it. Kindness is a simple virtue. He's owed a great deal more.